I recently bought a Wilderness Systems Tempest 170 (plastic). I’m a very experienced paddler, but this is my first sea kayak without a rudder (my other being a Wilderness Systems Tsunami 165 with a rudder).
I’m adept at using leans and steering strokes for course corrections in a boat like the Tempest (which has a skeg). I also tend to be fairly obsessive and technical about my paddling technique. I was once a whitewater slalom racer and have learned a lot about technique over the years from flatwater racers.
When paddling forward fairly hard, I’ve noticed that in almost all conditions, my Tempest (with the skeg fully down) seems to always drift off course to the right a few degrees. As a result, I find myself doing a lot more right leans and sweeps on the right to nudge it back to center (on-course). It’s been a bit annoying, and I’m wondering if it’s the boat? Or my technique?
It’s possible it’s because my technique isn’t 100% flawlessly symmetric or the left side of my body is simply stronger than my right side. But I’ve obsessed over this for a while and worked VERY hard to apply exactly the same amount of pressure/strength into strokes on either side…and I’ve made sure my grip is identical on both sides (e.g. exact same distance from the blades).
If it’s the boat causing it, what could that be? Just some subtle misalignment in the hull? (It looks perfect just eyeballing it—nothing wrong with it that I can see.)
If anyone else has ideas or experience with this sort of “constant course drift” post up! (Obviously I’ve never had this issue in my Tsunami because it has a rudder…and I just make very slight course corrections with the rudder without even thinking about it.)
I had the same problem when I got my new (to me) chatham17 but I found I was making a longer stroke on one side then I was on the other by about 3-4 inches. so yeah…it was me making the problem not something with the hull. An Australian man told me what to do to fix it and it worked very well. #1 use no feather at all in the paddle when correcting the stroke. #2 Slow the cadence to about 1 every 2 seconds. #3 Look at the catch and follow the whole stroke with your face without cranking your neck over, which causes a torso rotation to be slow and powerful #4 be very sure of the angle between the paddle and the kayak at the cut-out of the blade and be sure it’s at the same depth, angle and distance from the hull.
Do all this slowly and deliberately for about 2-3 hours.
I started out in the early morning and by noon I had no more perpetual turn with my Chatham17. In fact I did the same drill with other kayaks and it always worked for me. Just developing the correct muscle memory did the trick, but without seeing the slight difference in depth angles and distance from the kayak hull you can easily, get a very good muscle memory doing something slightly wrong so it becomes a perpetual problem.
Slowing down and concentrating on exact duplication of my catch, cut out and depth solves the problem for me.
The only thing I can mention is the experience from my Pygmy wood kayak building class. The instructor was quite attentive when we were wiring the keel panels together (the Pygmy are a stitch and glue kit kayak). He spent time helping us make absolutely certain the keel line was straight, warning that a misalignment would create tracking problems.
All that to say your thoughts on hull misalignment might be something to look into. A long straight edge, such as a long level or even a string stretched tight between two points, might help with the sight line.
One other thought, you mention the skeg is fully down. If that skeg is off center or out of adjustment wouldn’t it act like a rudder and possible turn the kayak? No experience with skegs, other than to help other people deal with jammed ones, so I’m just spit ballin’ with that one.
With my Northshore Buccaneer I don’t paddle with the skeg down unless I need it for a cross wind or current. The Shearwater Merganser I built has neither a skeg nor rudder. You might want to paddle with the skeg up as it could be masking to a degree what is happening with your paddle stroke.
@Shadepine, I had (still have but don’t use) a Liwuid Logic 12 ft kayak that pulled to one side ( I believe to the right). Other paddlers whonused it complained of the same issue. So I do think a kayak can be molded with a kink in it or the seat offset to give a "permanent edging condition.
You are observant, sound experienced with your detailed explainations, so I wouldn’t consider user error; however, the first step in trouble shooting is ruling out your personal error. So have another person paddle it to see if they have a similar issue. Then have still another person paddle it.
In the meantimr, I’m sure you already checked the keel with a straight line. Then check the seat to make sure it’s centered. I bought a used 145 Tsunami and moved the seat. I thought they would have used a fixture or molded index dimples into the cocpit rim to aid with drilling consistent holes to center the seat bracket, but it looks like they just hired a donkey and strapped a power drill to ots hoof. There was no consistency. Its possible the seatpan is skewed.
If all that fails to find an issue, brace the boat on a flat surface and check offsets, first at the widest point and worknyourvway forward as you compare each station (ever 12 to 16 inches) to make sure each side isca mirror of the opposing side. Curiouscl what you find.
One reason I like following natural rotation, rather than forced strokes is that it’s essier to exaggerate a strength bias when overreaching. Especially as the weak side begins to tire more readily (don’t think that would be your problem, but that is often the problem for a new paddler having a similar inconsistency). For example, my nephew tried out a used 145 ksyak I picked up for him, and he couldn’t keep it going straight. I began to think I bought a $600 flower pot. I tried it and it went straight as an arrow. Watching his paddling cycle, he didn’t make two strokes the same. After I pointed out his inconsistency, he corrected the problem.
Second what @castoff suggested - try this without the skeg and see if it still does the same thing.
Skegs are made to offset turning upwind (weather cocking). And then you only deploy enough to offset the weather cocking. A starting point is if you are pointed mostly upwind, you would have little or no skeg down. Directly from side, half way down. If all the way downwind, have the skeg all the way down. After these starting positions, you adjust further down if the boa is still turning upwind, and retract skeg some if the boat turns downwind.
Great comments everyone, thanks! @szihn you may well be right that my sides just aren’t perfectly equal when paddling. I’ve paid attention (while paddling at a normal pace) to the things you mentioned (where the catch is, blade angle, distance from the hull, rotation amount, where I end each stroke, etc.) and haven’t noticed any difference…but I also haven’t broken it down like you describe and carefully drilled…so that’s a good thing to practice.
@castoff I’m not sure if the rightward drift happens with the skeg up so I’ll try that. The issue of paddling with the skeg up vs. down (in all conditions) is an interesting one and (for me anyway) kinda gets into a more abstract area, LOL. Meaning: it’s my belief that any energy spent on correctional leans and strokes is energy taken away from pure forward paddling; when distance/endurance is the goal (which it is for me) I want 100% of my energy to go into forward paddling without ever having to even think about even minor corrections. (Case in point: flatwater sprint kayaks and surf skis all have rudders.) So I tend to paddle all the time with the skeg down (the only time I raise it is if I’m paddling tidal creeks with tight turns). But your point about the skeg masking some asymmetry in my technique is a good one! So I’ll spend some time with the skeg up and see what I find.
@Jyak - I actually haven’t checked the keel line with a taut string to see if it’s “plumb.” I’ll do that at some point. As for my technique, I don’t think having a weak side is my problem…(both sides are pretty strong)…but I still might be a little stronger on one side (or might be doing something slightly different with my paddle on one side)…so I’ll be paying closer attention to that.
And finally, my skeg is definitely not 100% straight/flat. It’s not wildly angled to one aide or the other, it just has a slight bow in it…but it might not take much to induce a slight turning force.
Yes, to core rotation driving the paddle. I can feel the drag caused when the skeg goes all the way down. That takes away from forward energy in my way of thinking. I feel a balanced stroke driven by the core and responsive to the feedback of the boat is fast and less tiring.
I don’t race kayaks so maybe some of those that do can provide some good advice.
An out of line keel might be hard to correct I suspect. If its plastic, you might try very hot water poured over towels to soften the plastic and work out how to straighten without deforming the hull. I haven’t had to straighten a hull. I have used this method on other smaller things like a bent and twisted 20’ roller furler excursion for a sailboat, and a pair of plastic Sperry boat shoes I needed to raise the arch for a more comfortable fit.
That’s a great tracking boat. It’s plastic and minted like dimes , are all the same. I have two. One is 25 years old and oil canned pretty bad. It still is a straight line rocket. We have all been there but it’s not the boat. Sorry.
I have a plastic wilderness tempest 170 as well. I seldom use the skeg unless I have a crosswind or following wind and seas. some additional thoughts. Check, trim and balance. Make sure you’re sitting in the center of the cockpit check that your blade is buried on both sides. Make sure that your paddle follows the same arc alongside the boat on hoth sides… Make sure that the power phase of your stroke doesn’t go past mid thigh and recovers by the hip. Anything further back introduces torque on the kayak. Finally, I know some power paddlers, especially those who race or used to race, have excellent power transfer through rotation of torso and hips to their feet but have a tendency to get a bit more power at the of their stroke by using their arms. Besides being inefficient, it often is asymmetrical.
Definitely the paddler. The comments above are excellent. I found it also helped to visualize my kayak moving forward in the water (birds eye view), moving my paddle through the water intentionally to keep my forward momentum straight on each side with micro adjustments.
Thanks—all good replies. As I’ve probably mentioned above, I was a whitewater slalom racer for years (earlier in my life!) so know a lot about forward stroke technique and rotation. And I’m pretty obsessive about making sure my stroke is identical on both sides (and my stroke is almost pure core rotation—I’ve spent years learning to use my arms as little as possible). None of which means I still couldn’t be applying more power to one side. (I could.)
I think a key element of the issue of tracking is whether or not you are subconsciously steering the boat? (e.g. to avoid any drift in course either way). My point being, some people are experienced enough that they may think they are just paddling forward…but they’re actually always doing little steering corrections (with strokes and/or leans) and just don’t realize how much they’re doing. Someone like this is (I think) more likely to say “My boat tracks really well!”
It’s either you or the boat. I’d test the hull by pushing it straight forward in motionless water and no wind. Preferably with some weight loaded dead center and see if it goes straight.
To really hone in on the boat and kinestic awareness do some paddling with your eyes closed and feel what the hull is doing, See if you can paddle it straight just by feel.
The purpose of a skeg is to counteract the effect of crosswinds. If going directly into or with the wind you really don’t need the skeg deployed at all. If paddling in crosswinds the skeg is generally not all or nothing. The degree to which the skeg is deployed is determined by the force and direction of the wind. You just want to deploy it enough so that the kayak tracks straight on the course that you desire without using edging or corrective strokes. The amount deployed will change with conditions. Too much or too little can result in weathercocking or leecocking.
A skeg if perfectly in line with the keel should not cause the boat to turn in one direction or the other on a consistent basis. A deformed hull might, but this is rare unless the boat was stored or transported on its side for a period of time in very hot weather. That can be easily checked.
@paddler1826785 - Oh our local lake is huge and typically gets rougher and windier than the nearby Pacific Ocean, LOL. (With some pretty big waves too.) The only thing it lacks is swell. I actually enjoy paddling when it’s windy and rough!
Wind. Tide. Current.
They are not always easy to detect.
Check the keel line of your boat and the placement of the skeg should be right on the keel line.
Mostly likely it is just the way you paddle.
Reviewing the thread along with various comments, several points stand out: Primary, your experience. Second, the issue is only apparent in the specific kayak and only when the skeg is deployed. Third is that you notice "the skeg is definitely not 100% flat/straight . . . it just has a slight bow in it.
Trust your judgement and experience, because you are closest to the issue and know the facts.
There was a stupid movie with Chris Farley, who gave advice about buying steak. Try a new skeg, if your Tempest is the right model. It’s only $29. After reading a few of your posts, I’m inclined to, initially, rule out your paddling.
